Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Structural steel is a category of steel used for making

construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural
steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile
of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes,
chemical composition, mechanical properties such as strengths,
storage practices, etc., are regulated by standards in most
industrialized countries.

Most structural steel shapes, such as I-beams, have high second

moments of area, which means they are very stiff in respect to
their cross-sectional area and thus can support a high load
without excessive sagging.

It is increasingly used in prefabricated steel frame buildings

and constructed in the traditional way by outstanding advantages
such as: diverse shapes and sizes to meet many requirements of
use, easy to fabricate, and abundant product sources in the
market.

Properties of structural steel include:

 Tensile properties- There are different categories of
steel structures which can be used in the construction
of steel buildings. Typical stress strain curves for
various classes of structural steel, which are derived
from steel tensile test. The initial part of the curve
represents steel elastic limit. In this range, steel
structure deformation is not permanent, and the steel
regain its original shape upon the removal of the load.
 Shear properties- Shear strength of steel structure is
specified at the failure under shear stress and it is
about 0.57 times yield stress of structural steel.
Regarding elastic shear modulus, it is expressed as the
ratio of shear stress to shear strain in elastic range
of steel structure. Commonly, elastic shear modulus of
steel structure can be taken as 75.84Gpa or the
following formula can be used to compute elastic shear
modulus.
 Hardness- Hardness is the measure of ability of steel
structure to withstand inelastic deformation. Standard
test methods and definitions for mechanical testing of
steel products (A370-05) specify three different tests
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
to evaluate steel hardness namely: Brinell, Rockwell
and

portable. Any of these tests can be used to estimate

steel structure hardness. Not only is the steel
structure hardness used to examine the uniformity of
different products but also to evaluate steel tensile
strength.
 Creep- Creep is gradual variation of strain of steel
structure under constant stress. It occurs due to the
influence of constant stress and the effect of fire.
Creep property is insignificant for structural steel
frame design and construction apart from the case in
which the effect of fire should be taken into
consideration.
 Relaxation- It is a step by step reduction of
structural steel under a constant stress. Usually,
yield strength of steel structure increases around 5%
over stress relieved strain and the steel structure
would suffer from plastic elongation which around 0.01.
 Fatigue- Fatigue is the failure of steel structure due
to crack initiation and development under the influence
of cyclic loading. Various tests are available to
evaluate structural steel fatigue such as flexure test,
rotating beam test and axial load test.

What are the different types of structural steel?

 Parallel flange channels - Parallel flange channels

are one type of structural steel that has flanges.
Flanges are protruding rims or ridges that are
typically attached to flat sections in order to
increase load capacity or provide even weight
distribution.
 Tapered flange beams - As previously mentioned,
tapered flange beams are structural steel members
that have tapered flanges that reduce in thickness on
one end. Although this structural steel comes in I-
shaped design, they are usually available in
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
different sizes, depending on the capabilities of
your chosen structural steel manufacturer.
 Angled sections- Angled sections are always
manufactured as an L-shape channel or beam that can
appear either as equal or unequal. They’re used

anywhere in construction, from everyday household

items, like custom bed frames, furniture, or even
ladders. Due to its versatility, it has become a
dependable material for virtually any building
project imaginable.
 Circular hollow sections- As the name suggests,
circular hollow sections are structural steel tubes
that possess a hollow shape or cross section. Also
referred to as tubular steel, their defining feature
is their uniform wall thickness that offers better
torsion resistance unlike the tapered flange variety.
 Rectangular sections- Both rectangular and circular
hollow sections have the unique shape suitable for
both construction, structural, and mechanical steel
applications. The difference between the two,
however, is that rectangular tubing has a flat
surface. This makes it easier for manufacturers or
fabricators to use rectangular tubes for metal
fabrication projects that involve flanging, punching,
shearing, coining, and many more.
 Flat bars- Flat bars are arguably the most flexible
and all-around type of structural steel. They can be
found in a variety of structures — from wall
cladding, paneling, to decorative implements that can
visually-enhance any building interior or exterior.
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
What are the common uses of structural steel?

1. Warehouses- Steel can be found in a number of both

small and large warehouses. While it has several
uses, it’s commonly seen as part of the building’s
mainframe, or main structuring — think steel
beams, I-sections, reinforced steel bars, or
pipes.
For warehouses, steel has both a decorative
and functional purpose. The exposed beam, while
also being visually neat to look at, also provides
a durable and long-lasting barebones structuring
that many warehouses may want to take advantage
of.
Although the structural design is basic, the
material is easy to install, reliable, and can be
further processed to reinforce it, and to improve
on its corrosion-resistance— i.e. galvanization.
2. Parking spaces- Modern car parks or parking spaces
nowadays make use of a combination of materials.
In fact, it’s uncommon to find any car park that’s
made with purely reinforced concrete.
In hybrid parking spaces, for example, steel
reinforcing bars are used to support the numerous
concrete columns that may be spaced out throughout
the entire facility. The material is a good choice
because it aids in supporting not only the columns
but also the different levels of the parking space
that may be present.
On the other hand, steel may be more visible
across steel parking spaces that have grown in
popularity throughout the years. Not only are
steel car parks practical to construct, they’re
also more lightweight compared to concrete. This
also means that the space within the parking area
is more maximized, making sure that no area is
left underutilized.
3. High rise building- High rise buildings have
varying requirements, but they significantly
require more structural support, especially in
cases of natural disasters such as storms or
earthquakes. A metric that is usually used as part
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
of standards for high rise building construction,
is called the wind load.

Wind load typically measures just how much a

building can withstand before any structure such
as roofs or ceilings would be affected. This can
also be understood to be the amount of pressure
that it would take before the main structure of
the building would begin to show cracks and
damages.
In such cases, a material like steel should be
used. Steel plates, reinforced steel bars, beams,
pipes, or steel sections are able to give
structure and support for this type of building
design. Provided that they’ve been properly
constructed, they can easily withstand any wind
pressure to a certain extent, in order to protect
the entire building as well as its inhabitants.
4. Bridges- Modern bridges are traversed by thousands
and thousands of cars and other types of vehicles
daily. Just imagine the amount of force that may
be put on the different components of a bridge
system, particularly the deck.
Keeping this in mind, many types of fabricated
steel products are used for bridge construction.
It allows bridges to support and carry more heavy
loads over a long period of time with very little
maintenance required and no cracks at all.
When subjected to secondary processes — such
as galvanization — structural steel in bridges
also provides ample protection against
environmental elements. The entire bridge
structure can be stable for a number of years
without experiencing any form of corrosion at all.
5. Agricultural infrastructure- The agricultural
industry has been existing for hundreds of
centuries nowadays. Many techniques like
irrigation have since evolved in order to
accommodate the use and function of materials such
as steel.
With this in mind, the agricultural industry
has also largely benefitted from the use of
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
TECHNOLOGY
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
structural steel in many operations. You can
easily find an agricultural or a farm building
like barns, silos, chicken coops, or sheds — all
of which involve more than a single application of
steel.

Aside from buildings, modern steel has also

been used in several fencing installations for
these types of facilities. Steel fencing can be
used for different types of enclosures that can
properly house farm animals or secure agricultural
equipment. In agricultural construction, there is
a freedom to come up with flexible structural
steel designs that can continually be scaled or
expanded in order to accommodate other materials.